Car door fastening for mining cars



(No Model.)

' J. H. WATT.

GAR DOOR PASTENING POR MINING CARS.

' No. 558,447.v Pateltecd Apr.14, 1896.

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w MESSE mA Q4 Y ,QMM ab mw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES II. IVATT, `OF BARNESVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE YATT MINING OAR VHEEL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-DOOR FASTENING FOR MINING-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,447, dated April 14, 1896.

Application filed January 17, 1896. Serial No. 575,881. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: A

Be it known that I, JAMES H. IVATT, of Barnesville, in the county of Belmont and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Door Fastenings for Mining-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andeXact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in the fastenings of mine-car doors, and is especially designed for that class of mine-cars which are provided with end doors that swing longitudinally of the car.

The common fastenings heretofore employed have various practical objectionable features, among the principal of which are the liability of the latch to catch upon the keeper as the door swings closed and break off, as the doors are made to swing freely in or out, or to fasten the door when the car is but partially emptied. Vhile various attempts and many forms of fastenings more or less cumbersome or complicated have been devised, none have practically contained all the desired features and -answered all the require ments of such fastenings.

The desirable practical features of such fastenin gs are, first, simplicity; second,certainty when locked; third, that it shall remain in unlocked position when once lunlocked until it is desired to lock the door again; fourth, durability, and, iifth, reliability in service. All these requisites I believe are found in my improved lock, of which the following is a description, and which is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an end view of the body of a mine-car. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa transverse section on line 3 3, Fig. l.

The body A of the car is of ordinary construction. So is the door B. Across the end of the car is a shaft C, provided with two collars c, this shaft being supported in the upstanding ends d of straps D, which strengthen the ends of the car sides.

The door B is suspended from shaft C by means of strap hangers Z), which are looped over the shaft, and also reinforce the door.

To the lower edge of the door is secured a plate E, to which is attached a bracket F, and an angular latch-lever G is pivoted at its bend on a bolt f, transiixing the bracket F and plate E, as shown. The lower arm g of this latchlever is bent downward and constitutes the latch proper, which is adapted to engage with a keeper H, which is fastened to and projects from one side of the draft-bar I and extends under the door and is fastened to the bottom of the car, as shown inY Fig. 3. The longer upstanding arm g of the latch-lever is guided in its movements by an arc-shaped loop J, attached to the door B, and is heavily weighted at its upper end, as at g2, so that should it be moved out of the perpendicular (as it must be when the latch is locked or released) it will drop to one side as far as the loop J will allow it and remain in such position by reason of the weight of the lever. Therefore when the latch is locked, as shown in Fig. l, it will remain in such position until it is positively released, and cannot jar out of position. Again when unlocked, as indicated in dotted lines, Figs. l and 2, it will remain out of position to rengage the keeper, until it is moved into locking position. Thus the latch-lever will remain in locked or unlocked position according as it is shifted.

The advantage of having the lever maintain an unlocked position is illustrated in Fig. l2, where the dotted lines indicate the positions assumed by the door in swinging, after the latch is released. Obviously -if the latch dropped back into lookin g position, as an ordinary latch would do, when the door swung inward the latch would engage the keeper and the sudden arrest of the door, which is quite heavy, would bend or break the latch, either immediately or in a very short time, which is a great practical disadvantage of the ordinary forms of car-door latches.

I am aware that pivoted weighted-latches of various kinds have been used in various connections on brake-levers, and car coupling and uncoupling devices; but a car-door fastening such as I have described I believe wholly novel and know it to be eminently IOO satisfactory and reliable in operation by aotual use thereof.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I therefore Claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent thereon, is-

1. The combination in a mining or coal ear, of the swinging end door B suspended from a cross-shaft; the draft-bar I on the end and bottom of the oar-body having a laterallyprojecting keeper H on one side near its end; and an angular looking latch-lever Gr, having an upstanding Weighted end g2, and bent lool;- ing-arm g on its lower end, pivoted at its bend on the door; said arm g being` adapted to engage svaid keeper,all constructed and arranged e to operate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination With the mine-oar hav- JAMES I-l. VATT.

XVitnesses:

T. II. ALEXANDER, JAMES R. MANSFIELD. 

